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If you’ve been following me for a while, you may know that I have a major soft spot for Carob that goes back to childhood! It was the ‘chocolate’ of choice that my Mum would buy for me, and amazingly enough the wholefood ingredient of Carob itself is still one of my favourite creamy, sweet wholesome foods when I feel like a treat!

So, what exactly is Carob?Besides being one of the most delicious earthy flavours/foods on earth, it is a legume ~ a bean that grows on a tree and is native to the Mediteranean and The Middle East. It grows in Australia among other dry warm climates and is one of the only known trees that can withstand severe drought without dying. It is a hearty, strong and resilent tree!

Being a legume, Carob is quite high in plant based protein, making it a great ingredient for Vegans and Vegetarians to incorporate into home-cooked recipes for extra oomph. Aside from it being nutritious, Carob is naturally sweet and creamy and when the bean is roasted and made into a powder, it is the perfect subsitute to Cacao or regular Cocoa powder for making Chocolate. It can even be a great substitute for sugar, as it has such a beautiful natural sweet taste.

Do you or your kids love Chocolate Milk, but want a healthier, cleaner, more nutritious option?

Well my friends, I have just the thing for you!

Hazelnut Carob Dream ~ aka: the best Chocolate Milk ever!

It’s super simple to make, will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days after making and requires only four ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 cups of soaked hazelnuts

1/4 tsp of sea salt

2 heaped tblsp of roasted carob powder

4 cups of water (filtered water or spring water)

*a piece of cheese cloth or a nut-milk bag for straining the milk once blended. (Ask your local health food shop, most shops stock these bags.)

To make this delicious milk follow the following simple steps:

Add soaked hazelnuts to your blender

Add water

Add sea salt

Now blend on high speed for 2-3 mins

Place your cheese cloth or nut bag over a large jar or jug.

Pour the contents of the blender into the bag/cloth and strain out the fibre, so you just have the milk in the jar/jug.

Once strained, place the solids to the side (you can reuse these in another recipe or compost them.)

Next add the milk back into your blender to ‘Carob-ify’ it! :) Add your roasted carob powder and blend for 2-3 mins until blended and smooth.

Next pour into a clean glass bottle or jar and drink or store in the fridge for when you feel like a smooth creamy snack!

This dish is a simple and delicious vegetarian double protein meal that is light, nourishing and grounding for the digestion. Perfect for Spring, when fasting on soups might be getting a bit boring. Do not fear. Adzuki Protein bowl is here to the rescue!

The secret to making this dish easy to put together is to have the Adzuki and Quinoa pre-cooked.

Adzuki beans take longer than most other pulses that I use in my cooking. They are so lovely as a change of ‘food’ scenery and are well worth the extra effort.

To save time:

Boil your Adzuki beans in hot water on a medium heat the night before. Allow approx 1-2 hours of cooking time. Every batch of Adzuki will be different. Some take more or less time to cook. Once you have them cooked. Time to cook your Quinoa.

Rince your Quinoa then place in your pot. For every cup of Quinoa, add approx 2 cups of boiling water. Once you add the water, do not touch. No need to stir. Let the Quinoa steam the same way you would cook rice. Check from time to time and add more water if you see it is necessary. Now that your beans and Quinoa is cooked. The rest is a piece of cake!

Serves approx 2 – 2.5 people :) :

Organic Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked Adzuki beans

1 cup of cooked Quinoa; white, red, black or mixed

Fresh Ginger

Spices: Tumeric, Coriander, Cummin

Ghee or Coconut oil

Fresh Coriander

Unhulled Tahini

Avocado

Celtic sea salt + Black pepper

Boiling water

Love! (Magic ingredient)

Creation process:

In your pot add 1-2 tbsp’s of Ghee or Coconut oil.

Add 1/2 tsp of Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cummin seeds and 1 tsp of fresh ginger. Toast these spices together, allowing them to sizzle and expand, then add 1/2 tsp of Tumeric powder and stir. (Onion and Garlic can be added here also/optional).

Now add your pre-cooked Adzuki beans and stir.

Add your Quinoa and mix the beans and Quinoa together, allowing the spices to absorb and soak in. Will be smelling really good by now!

Add a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper.

Your dish is ready to be served. I know… could a dish that is so good, really be so easy!? …In this case, yes. :)

Serve in your bowl of choice. Add a drizzle of tahini with a spoon, then a hearty pinch of freshly chopped Coriander. Slice your Avo in half, then into quarters and scoop the fruit out or leave it in its shell for a more ‘rustic’ presentation.

In the same pan, toast your spices. Add 3 tbsp of Ajwain seeds & 3 tbsp of Fennel seeds. Toast until ‘toasted’, they will smell toasted and look toasted. Add the spices to a mortar and pestle and grind into a powder.

Chop 1 cup of dates into small pieces.

Now add the dates, ground spice and seeds to the pan with Ghee and Besan flour and stir.

Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl, be careful, it will be hot still!

In mixing bowl add 4tbsp of coconut sugar and mix in with the flour, dates, seeds etc.

Wait for the mixture to cool, then using your hands roll into small balls and they are ready!

If they are not sticking together properly, add a little extra Ghee to assist with binding.

Enjoy warm or place in the fridge to allow the Ghee to cool and the balls to go hard.

A traditional Ayurvedic treat, warm, toasty and spicy with just the right amount of sweet to cradle you from Autumn into Winter…!

For those choosing to eat a path of Wholefoods, avoiding excess stimulation to the nervous system, avoiding processed sugars and unhealthy hydrogenated oils, then the prospect of finding some ‘Chocolate’ pleasure to share with your love (or simply your beautiful self!) might seem unnerving.

In Ayurvedic medicine, Chocolate is considered to be heating for the body and easily over-stimulating to the nervous system (brain) which really needs to stay cool, calm & collected! Due to these and some other reasons, Chocolate is not something you will find your Ayurvedic practitioner generally prescribing.

A big part of Ayurveda’s holistic approach is about maintaing balance not become too ‘rigid’ or stuck in one thing or another.

We always have wholesome choices we can make however. When it comes to eating ‘treats’ and things of a ‘Chocolaty’ kind… This is the way I like to do it!

*Carob is naturally sweet. This recipe is 100% sugar free and sweetener free as this is how I love to make them 95% of the time! J To make these chocolate treats a little sweeter or for a special occasion, you can add a dash of maple syrup – both delicious and slightly different! J

Ginger water opens the channels known as ‘Srotas’ in Ayurveda, burns up excess toxins known as ‘Ama’ and improves the power of your digestive fire, known as ‘Agni’ in Ayurveda! Yay!

Particularly great during the cooler months of the year when the channels of the body naturally start to contract with the cold environment. Ginger water will balance this and keep things flowing freely.

Ingredients:

1 tsp of Certified Organic (for best results for you & the planet) Dry Ginger powder.

2 cups of purified water

Method:

Boil the Ginger powder and water in your pot.

Allow to cool until a good warm drinking temperature

Serve straight or with 1/2 a tsp of raw, unprocessed sugar known as Jaggery or Rapadura for a dash of wholesome sweetness with your Ginger!

*Freshly grated or sliced Ginger can also be used to warm the body and improve digestion. For the purpose of this remedy, using the powdered Ginger has a stronger effect on warming the tissues of the body and improving digestion.

Besan (chickpea flour) pancakes are a beautiful Ayurvedic meal that can be enjoyed any time of the day.

Particularly grounding and yummy for a light breakfast.

Simple to make and a great source of protein to support and nourish your tissues, while being light and easy to digest. Perfect!

Simple Besan Flour Pancake Recipe:

Organic Ingredients:

1 cup of Besan Flour (Hint: …It looks yellow.)

2.5 cups of filtered water

1/2 a small Red Onion chopped finely

1/2 tsp of Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp of Himalayan good quality salt.

Some black pepper to taste

Ghee

A mixing bowl & wooden spoon.

A good quality stainless steel, cast iron or ‘healthy’ non-stick pan. (Important not to use teflon or poor quality as you will end up eating the toxic plastic or Aluminium which is not worth having for breakfast!)

Love!

Method:

Take your mixing bowl and add the Besan flour. With your wooden spoon, smooth out any lumps and bumps in the flour as much as possible.

Add your water and stir into a smooth batter.

Add your Onion, Cumin, Salt & Pepper.

Start heating your pan and add approx 1/2 tsp of Ghee.

When the Ghee is warm, pour some of the mixture into the pan to create your first pancake. Yay! Let it cook until it bubbles around the edges and in the middle slightly, then flip it over.

Cook until golden brown on both sides…

Serve with some fresh greens, some Chutney or a side of steamed vegies for something more substantial.

(Note: Add more water if needed to make your desired consistency. Coconut oil can be used as an alternative to Ghee, however has a different effect on the body and different taste. This recipe really lends itself to Ghee!)

1 cup of Moong Beang’s soaked in water for approx 24 hours, then rinsed & strained.

1 cup of Quinoa (mixed red & white variety).

1 cup of Pumpkin cut into cubes.

A few freshly chopped green leaves of Kale or Spinach

1.5 tsp’s of Freshly chopped or grated Ginger

1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp of Cumin seeds

A pinch of Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp of Coriander seeds

1 tablespoon of Ghee or Coconut oil

1 tsp of Himalayan salt

Black pepper

6 cups of Hot water (4 cups for Moong & 2 cups for Quinoa).

Freshly chopped Parsley or Coriander to garnish.

Method: ~ Moong Bean Vegie Stew

In a pot place your Ghee or Coconut oil and warm until the oil is melted.

Add your Cumin, Coriander and Fennel seeds and allow them to toast and start to ‘pop’.

Add your Ginger and Turmeric Powder and stir until they are mixed together. (Approx 20 seconds will be a good amount of time).

Add your Moong beans and stir. Allowing the spices and the beans to toast and mix together.

Add your Pumpkin and stir it into the mix.

Add your hot water and continue to stir regularly for approx 15 mins.

Add your fresh Kale & Spinach and stir.

Add your Himalayan Salt & a few pinches of black pepper.

Allow to cook like this until the Pumpkin and Beans are soft, then turn off the heat and place a lid on the pot to let the flavours develop and the beans and pumpkin to become nice and soft. Now let it sit, whilst you prepare your Quinoa!

Method: ~ Quinoa

Take your Quinoa and place in your pot.

Dry toast your Quinoa in the pot for a few minutes until the Quinoa becomes warm and starts to make ‘toasty’ sounds.

Add approx 2 cups of hot water. Enough water so that it sits above the Quinoa. You may need to add more as it cooks. If so, add it little by little.

Add a pinch of Himalayan salt for minerals.

Allow to boil. No need to stir Quinoa. Just let it boil and bubble away.

Cook for 10-15 minutes like this until the Quinoa grains have expanded and the water is almost fully evaporated.

Turn off the heat and place a lid on top and allow to sit for another 7-10 minutes. (If you have too much water still, then continue to cook for a bit longer, before turning it off and putting the lid on.)

Voila, by now you will have fluffy yummy Quinoa & a juicy wholesome Moong Bean Stew!

To serve, add Quinoa to your bowl, then next to it, your Moong Bean stew & garnish with some freshly chopped Coriander or Parsley. It is ready to eat!

Traditionally ‘Chai’ is made using black tea, Cow’s milk and a lot of sugar. These traditional Chai recipes can have their place. In India Chai is a social currency and without the black tea, milk and sugar it is quite possible that the train stations would stop and India would come to a stand-still. It really is a huge part of life and if you have ever sampled the Chai over there, you will know that it can be quite addictive!

This ‘Spiced Turmeric’ Chai Recipe is a delicious ‘medicinal’ (yet still so yummy) Chai that is warming, grounding, nourishing and calming all year round, through each season and time of the day or night.

It can be made with fresh Almond milk, Rice Milk or purely on water for a ‘dairy-free’ alternative or with a Organic Unhomogenised Cow’s milk for a more grounding, rich brew.

The choice of milk is up to you. Listen to your body and what it feels would be most balancing. Using the purest quality Organic Spices will make a difference, allowing for not only greater nutritional goodness within the spices to be available for your body, good quality spices will also offer greater flavour, aroma and will give your Chai a touch of magic!

Ingredients:

Fresh Turmeric Powder

Fresh Ginger

Cardamon pods

Cinnamon powder & or stick.

Cloves (optional)

Nutmeg (optional)

Fennel seeds

Rice Milk (Organic Un-homogenised Cow’s milk can also be used).

The secret to this Chai is to use an abundance of fresh Ginger! You can grate the Ginger or slice it finely. The quantity is up to you.

7. Stir & toast in the spices for a few minutes to lighten the lentils & rice for improved digestion.

8. Add 8 cups of boiling water & stir. Allow to gently boil.

9. Add a pinch of Himalayan salt

10. Continue to stir regularly

11. When Rice & Moong become creamy, turn off the heat and add some freshly chopped Spinach and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving. Adding the spinach last will ensure that it stays fresh and full of life force!

Serve with some chutney, fresh coriander on top & a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to nourish all the six tastes and promote great digestion.

(Note: Add more water to make your Kitchari lighter and more cleansing, and slightly less if you want a heavier and more grounding meal.)